One Hundred Hopes
by Jimmy the Gothic Egg
Summary: Summary: TophSokka and ZukoKatara drabble pieces, each inspired by themes from 100 themed communities. 041. In which Katara states a fact.
1. Tokka Unwritten

For the newly created tokka100.

**O54:**_ Unwritten_

Toph found it quite annoying whenever Sokka decided to go for a stroll to the nearest library. Having not much else to do, she would usually follow him, only to stare at books and scrolls and those of the sort that she could not read.

The oddest part of it was Sokka's recommendations.

He never seemed to remember that she couldn't read the words printed before her, but nevertheless, he would pick through scrolls, and somehow they would end up in her hands.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" she asked, carefully spreading the scroll out on the floor. She knew better than to hurt the paper, less she incur the wrath of the thousand year old woman carefully watching them.

Sokka gave no reply, just moved onto the next row. She could assume he shrugged, but she could also assume he'd made a rude hand gesture. She considered giving him a little start, just in case.

It was a couple weeks of this, before Toph got tired of it.

"Haven't you read every book in here yet?" she groaned.

"You don't have to come with me," he said.

"Why the library though?"

His answer was to pull the book she had accidentally been crumpling from her hands and replace it with a scroll that felt as if it were made of old paper and smelled like dried ink.

"I can't read this," she muttered. "Why do you keep giving me this stuff?"

"If you're so bored," he snapped, "then go home."

"No."

He set down whatever piece of paper he'd been looking at and cast her a look she wouldn't have been able to see anyway.

"Do the spirits hate me, or is that just you?"

She grinned. "Probably both."

There was a moment of silence, and Sokka picked up the scroll again. Toph ran her fingers over the fine paper then reached for the where she'd felt Sokka set down the previous book. She could kind of make out the shape of the ink beneath her touch, but it wouldn't have mattered either way. She'd never bothered to learn to read or write for that matter. It was one of the drawbacks of being blind.

She stretched her hands across the tabletop, feeling for anything else to study. Admittedly, she'd come to appreciate the fine sense of the different types of paper. Older scrolls were made of finer stuff, but the newer books were thick and had a different scent. Some papers didn't use ink at all, instead etching the symbols into a thick material she couldn't quite place.

"I can't read," she said suddenly. Why did she feel embarrassed over this?

Sokka stared at her a moment. "Okay."

She thought it should be left at that, until he reached across the table, carefully taking her hand. He pressed one of her fingers to one of the symbols, forcing her to trace it. Toph really hoped she wasn't blushing, because she could feel her face heat up.

He traced the motion for her a couple of times before letting go of her.

"What—What was that?" Why did she feel so embarrassed? Because he'd touched her? She'd been around men all the time, and never had she felt so… gushy.

"It means love," he answered.

Toph paused for a moment, before searching the rest of the text. She could barely find the etchings.

"What else does it say?" she asked.

She felt Sokka standing and moving over to her side, taking her hand once more and finding for her more of the characters. Within three hours, he'd managed to help her read the majority of the script.

"I'm not getting it," she said, wondering how long Sokka had been this close, and if he always smelled like this (like he'd been sleeping outside under the moon?) "It's just a bunch of random phrases that don't make any sense."

Beside her, she could feel his smile. He was enjoying this.

"It's not supposed to be straightforward. You have to see what isn't there."

She scoffed. "That's stupid. How does anyone know what's going on?"

He laughed, releasing her. "You're not supposed to read what's there. The point of it is kind of…"

"Unwritten," she said. "What if I want to read what's there?"

He patted her head, and she brushed him off. "We'll do some searching."

The library was no longer such a boring place to be. 


	2. Ice Tokka

**Word #13:** _Ice_

Toph had walked many places. With her friends she had stepped on the firm soil of the Earth Kingdoms, learning every different type of dirt to make it more malleable in her hands. She had discovered sand and its endless shifting, the wind moving it like the tides of the sea. She'd been pulled underwater, realizing for the fist time how helpless and little she was in even the calmest waters. She had stepped on Fire Nation soil and felt the heat of it, how easy it was to turn the nation they prided into their own enemy, and she had touched metal and felt it move at her will.

But never before had she touched ice.

It never got cold enough in the Earth Kingdoms for her to feel it. She was not there when they had traveled to the water tribes. Katara had bent the water into ice, but Toph never stepped on it (once, in a situation where she had no choice but to run and hope for the best and even then it had cracked beneath her.) Never before had she been on a country made of it.

Katara and Sokka were ecstatic to return home. Their excited chatter filled the air, and Toph wondered what it was like to live somewhere where nothing was solid. She sat with them, listening to their stories, but never really understanding, trying to decide what to do when they arrived.

And they arrived.

The cold was everywhere. It wasn't just cold; it was an entity within itself. Soon she felt herself wrapped in the warm furs of the siblings' nation (even allowing the heavy boots thanks to the warnings that the ice and the snow might freeze away her toes) and she felt Appa land, giving her a flash of what the land might look like. Katara was already o the ground (Aang not far behind her), and slowly Toph struggled to find sure footing on the slick ground. The snow waws awkward—like sand except thicker. She could see, almost, except for holes and blurred patches. Appa beside her was the most solid thing she could find.

Toph took a step and left her foot fall through. She panicked, reaching for Appa's fur to grab onto, missing, and falling straight into the snow. It was dry, she noted quietly as she picked herself off the ground, until it hit her skin. It melted as soon as it touched.

"You okay?"

Toph turned to face whomever was talking, found the patch she fell in, and fell again. Once more she flailed for something to hold onto. She found Sokka.

Sokka was surprisingly solid. She could actually see every part of him: the features on his face and the goose bumps on his skin from the cold. He had caught her by the arms, letting the rest of her hang above the ground. Carefully she picked herself up, brushing herself off.

"Thanks," she said. He let go of her, and again she saw only the endless landscape. She instantly missed his arms. "Are we going?"

She could feel his critical gaze. "Are you sure you're okay?"

She shrugged. "Whatever. Katara and Aang are way ahead of us. We should probably catch up."

She felt him come closer, and quite surprisingly he grabbed her hand. The gloves were warm from his body heat, and she felt a small bit of gratitude for that.

There was a moment's pause, as if he were waiting for her okay, and she yanked him slightly, allowing him to lead the way.


	3. Zutara Royalty

**#041—**_Royalty_

Katara smacked Zuko soundly.

"No more," she said. "You are no longer allowed to use the words 'water peasant' in sequential order in a sentence. Or I am taking away talking privileges."

He stared at her.

"I'm not even a 'peasant,'" she continued, for good measure. "I'm the chief's daughter. I've got just as much rank as you, and stop giving me that smug smile. I'll peel it off."

He continued to grin. Katara slapped him again and walked away.

The next day, while packing everything away on Appa, Zuko came up with a new name for Katara.

"Oh, _princess_," he said with a laugh as she hoisted the tarp for the tent onto Appa's back. "Let me help you with that."

It was going to be a long journey.


End file.
